How Pilates Helps Your Body be Winter Ready
Guest Blog by Gillian Booth from acorepilates
As we start to wear our gloves and scarves for those frosty mornings, we know winter is quickly approaching. Colder temperatures mark the chance for snow and slippery surfaces, making outdoor winter exercise ripe with opportunities to become injured. Preparing with regular Pilates classes can provide safer more efficient movement through the toughest Scottish winter weather!
Pilates exercises work to strengthen the muscles of your core, which is critical to helping you improve posture, balance and foot strike as you walk over snowy, icy surfaces. In Pilates, exercises are initiated from the core and incorporate the use of upper and lower body muscles while working muscles and joints through a full range of motion.
Pilates produces a wide variety of benefits including strength, core strength and flexibility. These are merely several of the many benefits that Pilates offers which is helpful when navigating winter weather conditions. These core benefits provide injury preventative measures and are effective in helping with safe efficient, mobility when participating in winter activities.
Here are some of the situational benefits of Pilates during a cold snap:
Increased Strength: Strong core muscles, the muscles of the abdominals and back, support an upright posture and is beneficial when performing winter activities such as shoveling snow, ice skating, skiing and walking.
Improved Posture: A strong core produces an upright posture that translates to better balance especially when you are walking through or navigating snow-covered, slippery surfaces.
Improved Mobility: A strong, stable core and extremities that have been worked through full range of motion allows you to move more efficiently with better foot strike and walk stride.
Improved Flexibility: Better flexibility will allow you to regain balance and upright posture quickly, helping them to avoid a slip, fall and injury.
Gillian is holding a Winter Awakening session in The Place to Pause & Breathe - click the picture above for more information.